Experts call for the need to compare it with traditional outlets and not focus on offers only

Consumers complain of overpricing of goods on e-commerce sites

  • Traditional outlets have higher operating costs, while websites are less expensive.

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  • Duty free market policy requires consumers to make price comparisons before purchasing.

    archival

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Consumers said that they spotted price exaggerations for a number of goods on e-commerce sites, compared to their prices in the markets, including goods within offers on the sites’ platforms, the price of which was raised compared to their previous price limits, to appear within high download rates.

And they pointed out, to "Emirates Today", that some sites exaggerate in setting high limits for goods, especially electronic devices, and then return them to their same actual prices during performances, noting that it is strange that some goods on websites are higher than those in stores, despite The absence of operating costs borne by the stores compared to the sites.

In turn, experts and officials in the retail and e-commerce sector stated that the policy of free markets requires consumers to make price comparisons before buying and not to be tempted by offers only.

websites

In detail, the consumer, Mahmoud Kamal, said that he was surprised when he bought a smartphone within offers announced by one of the websites, that the phone was offered at an exaggerated price, and after the discount offered by the website, it is sold at the same price as it was offered during normal times, indicating that he is following up on the price of the phone in order to buy it. , so he was able to know the price exaggeration on the part of the site, to show unreal discounts on it and in large proportions, despite the fact that the same phone is sold at the same price without discounts on other sites.The consumer, Omar Othman, added that he monitored price exaggerations in a number of food commodities displayed on e-commerce sites, within the discount offers, compared to their prices within similar discounts in traditional outlets, although the prices of the websites are supposed to be low in large proportions, both during Offers or even at regular prices, compared to stores, with the latter having high operating costs of labor, rental, maintenance, electricity, water and management fees for store sites, while the sites are less expensive to operate.Consumer Adel Mokhtar pointed out that some websites are taking advantage of consumers’ demand for them with the spread of the concept that they are the lowest in price, and set exaggerated prices for different products, pointing out that he “observed the presence of many products that are sold at high prices in the offers, compared to their prices in the download offers in stores.” Various products, including drinking water, coffee, tea and other food products, in addition to various electronic goods.

For his part, the director and founder of the “Go Bazaar” electronic platform, Mahmoud Akrin, explained that “if consumers monitor price exaggerations in the prices of some goods on e-commerce sites, or raise the price and bring it back to its levels through discount offers to show large discount rates within the offers, these practices come Already within the different marketing policies of each site to stimulate sales and try to attract a larger number of consumers, especially in light of the high intensity of competition among e-commerce sites in large proportions during the recent period.

He added, “Consumers can ensure that prices are appropriate for each site through price comparisons between electronic platforms or resort to sites that allow displaying the prices of a specific commodity on all sites, in addition to commodity price index data on the site or across multiple sites, which enables consumers to make purchasing decisions. Occasion".

high competitiveness

The Director of Business Development at one of the e-commerce platforms, Reggie Deepak, explained that “markets are characterized by open policies, which allows high competition between e-commerce platforms to display their products at different prices, and provides consumers with multiple options to shop from the appropriate sites at prices or in delivery and shipping services.” Pointing out that “the different prices on some sites are due to the different prices of exhibitors for goods, especially with the fact that a number of sites allow suppliers to display their products through their platforms, and in the end the consumer can choose the best-priced goods in the presence of multiple alternatives.”

raising awareness

The retail trade expert and head of “Al Bahar Consulting” company, Ibrahim Al-Bahr, confirmed that “e-commerce platforms have witnessed a significant expansion in the markets, supported by the changes imposed by the (Covid-19) pandemic, which raised awareness among consumers about these platforms and raised their shares in the sector. Shopping,” noting that “it is natural that the prices of goods offered on e-commerce platforms are more competitive, compared to traditional stores, and therefore with the latter having high operating costs, but some goods may be on sites at exaggerated prices due to marketing policies for those goods.” ».

He pointed out that "there are a number of necessary steps that the consumer must follow when shopping through e-commerce platforms, the first of which is focused on comparing the offered prices of the goods targeted for purchase on the site, whether compared to other e-commerce platforms or even those in traditional stores."

He stated that it is important to avoid shopping from anonymous e-commerce platforms or social networking pages that may provide false offers or products where there are no guarantees for the goods sold.

And he warned, "not to be drawn to the temptations of offers only for shopping, as offers incentives cause mistakes to be made in irrational purchase of products just because they are subject to discounts."

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